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The big news for this round of class notes is, of course, the 50th Reunion.

We managed to have over 100 classmates attend, which amounts to some sort of miracle. I can’t give the highlights because every moment was a highlight—the entire weekend was fantastic.

While all the organized events were terrific (WESeminars, tours, concerts, meals), by far the most enjoyable time was sitting in the ’76 class lounge, talking to people. We caught up with old friends and first-year roommates, and we had long conversations with people we never knew on campus. We heard everything from heartfelt stories of struggles on campus, to the wonderful saga of the theft of the Douglas Cannon. . . . We got to hear Jay Hoggard play with his incomparable Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra and hear Bob Thompson’s unforgettable voice filling the room. We mourned and celebrated our departed classmates with Debra Haffner’s leadership and the lovely music of Pam Swing, Marty Plotkin, and John Williams, and we connected with alumni from the 1950s to 2021. In short, we had a really great time.

Several of our classmates were rightly acknowledged for the service they’ve given to the University over the years:

• The Outstanding Service Award was given to Byron Haskins and Shonni Silverberg “in recognition of outstanding volunteer service to the University, their community, or the nation.”

• The James L. McConaughy Jr. Memorial Award was given to Alan Miller; the award “recognizes a member of the Wesleyan family (including students, faculty, alumni, parents, and members of their respective families) whose writing or other creative achievement conveys unusual insight and understanding of current and past events.”

At Commencement, Dr. David Carlisle was named an honorary Doctor of Science for his long career in medicine and his work as president and chief executive officer of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. You can read his remarks here.

Oliver Griffith, who came all the way from Paris for the reunion writes, “It was great to be back at Wesleyan for my first reunion ever. It was a moving experience, so I put together this song using AI to summarize my impressions. It’s scary for a music major to see what AI can produce.” You can hear Oliver’s work here.

Reverend Debra Haffner gave her take on the reunion: “How wonderful to reconnect with so many people after 50 years and to meet some ’76ers I had never known. I loved everything about the reunion, especially the chance to finally play the gamelan, listen to Michael Roth three times, and catch up with my first-year suite mates for lunch on Saturday. I was honored to create the memorial service honoring our beloved classmates who have died and am so grateful to Pam Swing and Marty Plotkin for creating the wonderful music for the liturgy.”

In non-reunion news:

Meredith Bergmann completed a new public monument in Coolidge Park, Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The unveiling took place on June 14. She describes her work: “Ron Bouchard (1948–2015) is a local hero in the city of Fitchburg. He won his first car race at the age of 14 and went on to win the Talladega 500 in 1981. He is one of the two figures in my sculpture group, Inspiration. The other figure is a 12-year-old boy growing up in Fitchburg, whom I sculpted at the moment when he realizes that he, too, can strive for his own kind of greatness.”

Chris Mahoney writes: “Joan, the dogs, and I have spent the first half of the year at our house on Harbour Island in the Bahamas and are now in the process of returning today to our farm in Pennsylvania. We will go back to Harbour Island in November. I will miss being able to swim in the ocean. Joan’s responsibilities as the president of the National Beagle Club will be keeping her busy. I will be very busy being retired.”

Karen Gervasoni and her husband, Bruce Horan, are enjoying their annual stint as hosts for members of the Sanford Mainers baseball team. She reports that there’s a Wesleyan undergraduate on the team this year! If you attend a game, watch out for Kevin Brown ’28—and say hello to Karen and Greg!

Debra Neuman reports: “My big news is that I got married March 12 in Hawaii and had a lovely celebration at home in Mystic on June 27. My husband is Wil Cooke, a retired submarine captain, who actually lives on the same street as me in Mystic. We share the experience of having lost a beloved spouse and the opportunity to find love and companionship again at this stage of life. Wil came with me to the reunion and we had a lovely time, though I was deeply saddened to learn of Jeffrey Lane’s death only two days before our 50th.

“I will retire at the end of this year and look forward to traveling with Wil and having time to play pickleball and golf and ride my bike whenever I want!”

And we got a note from Abe Yale! “Although I was only able to attend the class dinner on Saturday night, it was great to see some old friends and acquaintances and catch up a bit. Two of my three children and four of our six grandchildren were visiting with us for the weekend at our home in Milford on the seashore. My wife of 48 years, Nancy, and I are very fortunate to have all of our kids and grandchildren living 15-30 minutes of each other in the Greater Boston area, which is less than two-and-a-half hours from our home. Although we missed each other at the reunion, I gave my former roommate, Andy Brotman a call a couple of days later and reconnected with him for the first time since graduation on the golf course. One thing led to another, and Andy and his wife will join us on a Tauck river cruise in France this June along with some other friends.

“Nancy has been a luxury travel advisor for the past 30 years, and it has allowed us to travel with a frequency and style that we might not otherwise be accustomed to. I’ve dealt with a series of blood disorders/cancers for the past 25 years, which eventually required a stem cell transplant about 19 months ago. Although I have ongoing challenges/treatments, I’m able to live a very full and active life, thanks to my stem cell donor and Robert Soiffer ’79, MD, along with the rest of the professionals at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Those of us who live in the Northeast are so lucky to have DFCI nearby.  Many of you have heard the saying ‘we are on the back nine. . .’ a more appropriate one is ‘we can see the clubhouse!’ Let’s all make it a great day!”

Byron Haskinsis keeping the reunion going! “It’s been a busy summer after the reunion. Gabrielle and I had a great time at Middletown, being the first to show up at registration that morning, quickly followed by Peter and Gail Hansen, and Eli Leichtling and Sally Merrell. The six of us had a great time bonding, and since O’Rourke’s is no longer open, we went to appropriately named Wayback Burger and then climbed back [to] the hill to find lots of other people arriving. That was the best weather day. Also had a good time getting the WESU update from station manager Ben Michael. I had the good company of Richard, spouse of Adele Miles Batchelder, who also has a history in radio broadcasting in upstate New York. 

“It was great seeing you and David and having all those great conversations with folks who I considered friends, who I never knew, and those you only catch up with during reunions. And it was an honor to be able to get up on the stage and introduce my friend Jay Hoggard and his students. The reunion was a blast for me.

“While in Connecticut, we also got to spend time with my son Josh, his wife, Katy, and three grandchildren (11, five, and one) in Meriden, making the trip wonderful in more than one way. And the drive was not that bad because we still maintain an apartment in Westmount, Quebec, so the drive to Connecticut was only five hours instead of 12.

“Since the reunion, I’ve been back in touch with Charles James, who is doing well as a retired Chevron executive, having taught at Arizona State University for six years pro bono, as well being a doting husband and grandfather of four, surviving a major residential renovation, while mentoring a group of young men. I’m hoping to go down to visit him sometime. In Middletown, Joe Mingolla, Barry Fogel, and others asked about Charles and so, there is the answer! 

I am very much looking forward to the initiative that we discussed during the reunion—that we have quarterly Zoom calls for our class just so we can stay in touch. I’m sorry I won’t be able to make it to Tom’s memorial but know that I’ll be there in spirit. Tom Kovar was a real force in our class.”

Kathy Skelley tells us: “What I did instead of attending the 50th was get ready to move away from New York City, where I have lived since September of 1976. My husband, Marc Anders, and I decided a few years ago to look for a senior community in more peaceful environs, and have landed at Seabury in Bloomfield, Connecticut, just a few miles from my childhood home in West Hartford. We moved in on July 21 and are very happy with our decision. I would love to hear from any classmates in the area.”

From Nat Needle: “Sorry I missed the reunion! Late May finds me deep in the act of preparing students for their annual piano recital. I very much appreciated Karen including my ragtime playing in her catalogue of other classmates’ contributions to our musical daily life that were so wonderful for me as well. I don’t play much ragtime anymore, but, by coincidence, I opened this year’s recital with Scott Jopin’s ‘Gladiolus Rag.’ I muddled through it well enough to be only mildly embarrassed to share it: Gladiolus Rag (1907) by Scott Joplin

“Last February, I organized a Black American Women Songwriters 1920–1970 Concert, held at the YWCA of central Massachusetts in Worcester. Here’s the recording as live streamed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/YsdTFkVUOL0?si=dseJZGmV-5pkh7-5  Please forward to about 12 minutes into the recording for the actual start of the program. So many folks worked hard to make this happen in a harmonious spirit.

“To follow along with historical context and biographical notes on the 14 songwriters, here’s the program from the event, designed and annotated by Leyla Knight:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Ui-rJy_wqJCsnnmhjbactR6fvHuCt2f/view?usp=sharing

“Finally, like many of you, I was saddened by the recent death of Tom Kovar. I feel that loss keenly. We were hall mates freshman year, and in 1980–81, we shared a flat in Northampton. We somehow managed to stay in touch through. . . well, thick and thin. . .  you’re alive in me, Tom.”

Nina Jaffe writes: “After working on the graduate faculty of Bank Street College of Education for 21 years, I retired in the spring of 2020. On the graduate faculty, I served as a teacher advisor and taught courses including Storytelling with Children, Folklore in Education, and Social Studies as the core of an integrated curriculum for children with special needs. Before teaching at Bank Street, I earned an MSEd in bilingual special education (Spanish/English) and continued as an independent consultant in storytelling and music, both before and after retirement. Leaping to the present, I live in the Bronx with my husband, Bob, who retired from working for the NYC DOE in special education for 35 years. There is much more to say about Wesleyan and how my work took shape as the result of earning my BA with a major in world music (yes, you could major in world music at that time) and a minor in education. Teachers such as Abraham Adzenyah (West African music and dance), Ramnad Ragavan (South Indian percussion) and L. Shankar (South Indian vocal music), who so fully embodied their heritage and shared their knowledge so generously with Wesleyan students, gave me a way to consider how to be a teacher, with children and adults, in a way that learning from diverse traditions could take place while developing one’s own voice and identity. The work in storytelling and oral traditions also led me to publishing books for young readers (19 in all) including titles such as The Golden Flower: A Taíno Myth from Puerto Rico (2005, 1996), The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition (1997) and the inaugural DC Comics Wonder Woman Books for Young Readers (2004).

“Back to the present, I’m happy to share that our son, Louis Armistead (who attended the University of Vermont and works as an assistant film editor), wrote a play entitled: Parking Spot: The Musical, which is one of the offerings for the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh this season. (He has also served as a facilitator for the Freestyle Love Supreme Academy, founded by Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, so there is a Wesleyan connection there as well.) With all the ways that Wesleyan has enriched my own life as well as family and community, I’d like to say how wonderful it was to attend the 50th Reunion this year and look forward to future occasions for connection—virtually or in real time.”

From Jeff White: “I’m still working, now in renewable energy (a challenge given the current [political landscape]). I’m living in New Jersey and thoroughly enjoy it. I am blessed with two great sons, one a college faculty member and one a dentist, and three young grandchildren who are a joy. It’s hard to wrap my head around remembering our years at Wes so clearly and now being a grandparent. Be well everyone.”

And from Barb Birney: “First, thanks to all of the classmates who gave input into the format of our Reunion. It really worked with respect to supporting spontaneous conversations with a variety of people over a matter of days. I took the opportunity to go to the rare books room and discovered a 30-year-old secret. I bumped into my brother, Bob Birney ’81, on the staircase leading up to the exhibit. He told the story of studying until 2:00 a.m. one night and getting locked in some remote Olin stacks. Finding his way through the dark, he tried all the doors but couldn’t get out. Finally, he climbed out through one of the front windows. We looked at the window and these days there is a sign that says, Windows Do Not Open.”

Susan Avitzour writes: “From the photos and comments, it looks like those attending had a blast at our class 50th. I’m so glad!

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend for two reasons:

“I hope to visit my family in Berkeley/Oakland this coming late fall or winter. Perhaps I could see some of you then?”

I’ll close with some Reunion photos, for folks who haven’t logged into the online class book.

KAREN HARMIN | karen.harmin@gmail.com